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THEREPORTMeru County 2014

Kenya

MERU COUNTY CONTENTS

Fertile landsPage 12

The agricultural landscape comprises manysmallholder farms – 98.6% of farms are smallscale and the national average farm size istwo acres. The total area of Meru being culti-vated for staples, cash crops and horticultureis 700,000 acres, 40,000 acres, and 50,000acres, respectively. Staples yield 1m tonnesannually with tea dominating the cash crops,with roughly 45m kg produced each year.

At a junctionPage 22

Meru’s roads cover 3640 km, but only350 km are paved, while 500 km are all-weather (gravel) roads and the remain-ing are dirt roads, but less than a quar-ter are usable year-round and air optionsare key to Meru's export growth. The Isi-olo airport project is at an advancedstage, with a runway and passenger ter-minal finished. The runway will beextended for larger aircraft as well, mak-ing it Kenya’s fifth international airport.

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CENTRE STAGEDespite its largely rural nature, Meru Countyplays a key role within Kenya

INTERVIEWPeter Munya, Governor of Meru County

NEW ECONOMIC PLANNINGSupported by strong fundamentals, the currentgovernment is steering the economy towardsambitious goals

FERTILE LANDSA diversified agricultural sector continues todrive Meru’s economy

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MOVING UP THE VALUE CHAINFood processing and diversification will driveindustrial growth

HIDDEN WONDERSRaising bed capacity and sharp marketing willunleash tourism potential

AT A JUNCTIONBuilding solid transport infrastructure willaccelerate growth

HEALTH DEVELOPMENTMedical facilities and indicators improve, butmisdiagnosis and visits from neighbours addpressure.

LEARNING BY DOINGQuality improvement programmes aim to boostprimary and secondary schooling

LISTINGSImportant contact information

Editor-in-Chief: Andrew JeffreysEditorial Advisor: Peter Grimsditch

Chairman: Michael Benson-Colpi Director of Field Operations: ElizabethBoissevain

Regional Director: Karine LoehmanCountry Director: Annie Michailidou

Editorial Manager: Marc-Andre DeBlois

Managing Editor: Alistair TaylorDeputy Chief Sub-editors: BarbaraIsenberg, Martin Stegman Senior Sub-editor: Jennie PattersonSub-editors: Sam Inglis, Sean Cox,Danya Chudacoff, Krystell Jimenez,Oliver Ayyildiz, Abraham Armstrong,Usman Ahmedani, Ivan GladstoneContributing Sub-editor: MiiaBogdanoff

Analyst: Mustansir BarmaSenior Editorial Researcher: SusanManoğluEditorial Researchers: Mariah Pittman,Jenna Oelschlegel, George Fitzherbert-Brockholes, Sara Costa, Souhir Mzali

Creative Director: Yonca ErginArt Editors: Meltem Muzmuz, İlaydaGedikGraphic Assistant: Gülhan AtbaflIllustrations: Shi-Ji LiangPhotography Editor: Mark Hammami

Production Manager: Selin Bolu Operations & Administration Manager:Burçin IlgazLogistics & Distribution Coordinator:Esra SezginOperations Assistant: Öznur Usta

Field Operations Executive: MeltemOkurField Operations Assistant: Arda Ozgen

Project Coordinator: Rose NyatoroGachuraProject Assistant: Maureen MwihakiGichoMeru County Liaison: Martin Bikuri

SNAPSHOT4

www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/country/Kenya

Meru in figures

SOURCE: Revised Meru County Budget 2013/14

Key budgetary figures 2013/14 (KSh m)

Revenues

Central allocation 4749

Local sources 658

Other 275

Total 5682

Expenses

Personnel 1318

Operations 1161

Development (new & recurrent) 3033

Total 5682

County road network by type (km)

SOU

RCE:

OBG

inte

rvie

ws

0

800

1600

2400

3200

4000Km

TotalDirt (earth)

All-weather (gravel)

Paved (bitumen)

SOURCE: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries *Selected crops only

Area (ha) Production (tonnes) Value (KSh m)

Coffee 8077 83,764 713

Tea 3781 44,569,114 4345

Cotton 1216 1181 40

Miraa 419 181,254 55

Macadamia 1203 2618 176

Cash crops, 2012*

SOURCE: Meru County Development Profile

Basic education indicators, 2013

Primary Secondary

No. of schools 961 347

No. of teachers 5,520 1,825

Teacher/student ratio 1:61 1:30

Enrolment 335,879 54,682

Drop out rate 3% 5%

Average years of attendance 8 4

Access indicators

0 - 1 km 28.1% 2.0%

1 - 5 km 11.6% 35.5%

> 5 km 60.3% 62.5%

Other/none

Grid

Solar

Paraffin

Gas

Biogas

72.80

13.60

6.60

4.50

2.40

0.10

Sources of household electricity (%)

SOURCE: OBG interviews

PROFILE OVERVIEW

Devolution is seeing power cascade down to the local level

Located at the heart of Kenya, Meru has a rich his-tory dating back many centuries. The name of theregion is derived from mie-ru – “quiet forests” – andwas coined by the Masai people in reference toMeru’s forested regions of Imenti and Tigania.

Since the 17th century, Meru was governed by acouncil of elders (Njuri Ncheke), who made laws andsettled disputes. Even since more formal governingsystems were adopted, the council retains its tradi-tional importance and is frequently consulted byofficials and ordinary citizens on a range of issues.

In a more formal sense, the administrative regionof Meru was established in 1911. In 1992 it wasdivided into three smaller administrative units, withone being later split and defined as Meru and Thara-ka-Nithi counties, in accordance with the 2010 con-stitution, which devolved certain powers from thenational government to 47 newly created counties.

The constitution also carved out several smalleradministrative units within Meru. There are nine sub-counties (also known as constituencies ), and eachsubcounty has further smaller divisions called wards.The nine subcounties are Igembe South, IgembeCentral, Igembe North, Tigania West, Tigania East,Imenti, Central Imenti, South Imenti and Buuri. Thereare 45 wards and each subcounty has five wards, withthe exception of South Imenti and Central Imenti,which have six and four, respectively.DEVOLUTION: In accordance with the devolutionof power, in March 2013 county-level officials wereelected to run subnational governments for the firsttime in Kenya’s history. Under the devolved systemof government, a number of specified functionsremain with the national government while otherswere transferred to the county level.

Certain administrative, fiscal, and political func-tions were handed over to the counties, includingthe maintenance of basic health care, infrastructureand preschool and vocational education services.Among the key objectives of decentralising powers

was a fulfilment of demands, from around the coun-try, for greater self-governance. Devolution was alsoundertaken to enhance the efficiency of public serv-ice provision, and increase governmental transparen-cy and accountability. Although revenues rely in largepart – like for all counties – on transfers from thecentral government, Meru now manages its owncounty budget and development agenda, and coun-ty officials are seeking to use decentralisation as anopportunity to entice private sector actors to moveout of Nairobi and invest in county developmentprojects ranging from infrastructure to agribusiness.

According to Jacob Kirera, the county executive fortreasury, “Service delivery is closer to the peopleand response times are faster with power in thehands of the county.” County officials are on theground closer to home and can address challengesincluding an inadequate road network, human set-tlement issues, biodiversity threats, and others. Kir-era added that being closer to the source also allowsleakages in revenue collection to be sealed, citingdraft legislation such as the County Finance Bill andnew institutions, such as a county revenue board.GOVERNMENT: Meru’s government has two branch-es: executive and legislative. The executive branchis in charge of county administration and is led bythe governor and his team of 10 county executives,each in charge of sector portfolios.

The legislative branch, known as the County Assem-bly, has 69 members and is charged with debatingand passing bills. In addition, each of Meru’s nine sub-counties are represented by a Member of Parlia-ment (MP), and one senator (Kiraitu Murungi) rep-resents the county on the national stage.

Peter Munya became Meru’s first governor afterKenya’s first subnational elections were held onMarch 4, 2013, although a protracted legal battle fol-lowed over the validity of the elections and led tothe temporary removal and subsequent reinstate-ment of Governor Munya. The dispute was settled

Meru has been formallyrecognised as anadministrative district since1911; however, its regionalhistory and name haveroots in the Masai people,who governed the areastarting in the 17thcentury.

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THE REPORT Kenya 2014

The government of Meruhas two main components,the executive (with agovernor and 10 leaders)and a legislative branch(comprising an assembly of69 members).

Centre stageDespite its rural scale, Meru County plays a key role in the region

PROFILE OVERVIEW

in summer 2014, and policy programmes and invest-ment plans have continued to move ahead accord-ingly. In August 2013 local media listed Munya among15 governors lobbying the central government toincrease funding for the counties and increase theirrole in security matters.

Additionally, the county has been looking into proj-ects that would increase interaction between civilsociety and the private sector. The Meru Rising Con-ference in June 2013 – an investor conference –and the Meru Stakeholders Forum in January 2014were two such opportunities for the government toengage Meru citizens based in Nairobi, and similarefforts are expected in coming years.GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE: If the map of Kenya werea dartboard, Meru would be the bull’s-eye. The coun-ty is geographically situated in the centre of Kenya,and it also straddles the equator. Meru borders Isi-olo to the north and northeast, Tharaka-Nithi andNyeri to the southwest, and Laikipia to the west.Mount Kenya, 56% of which is in Meru, also bordersMeru County in the southwest.

Given that Mount Kenya’s peak to its eastern baselies within Meru, the county’s altitude varies from300 metres to 5199 metres above sea level. Thisvariation allows for both agricultural and ecologicaldiversity, and the topography greatly affects econom-ic activity. The highland zones cover most of thecounty’s area, with seven out of nine subcounties inthe higher altitudes. Buuri and Tigania are in themidland zones, close to Isiolo County in the north.

Meru’s land area covers 6936 sq km, of which 26%is protected forests. Despite Meru’s relatively smallsize, the county’s climate varies considerably. On therainy side of Mount Kenya, south and southwestMeru receive moderate to high rainfall of around2500 mm annually while the lower midlands in thenorth and northeast are dry and receive 300 mmannually. Other parts of Meru average 1200 mm peryear. The county experiences two rainy seasons, the

first, with longer rains, happens from March to May,while the second with shorter bursts of rain runs fromOctober to December. Temperatures in the countyrange between 8°C and 32°C.

The county is also home to a number of nationalparks and conservation areas, including the mas-sive Meru National Park, the Nyambene NationalReserve, in addition to other extensive wildlife areasaround Mount Kenya, such as Lake Alice, which is wellknown for trout fishing.POPULATION: Meru County has 1.5m inhabitants,with a stable population growth rate of just over 2%.The population is projected to rise to 1.6m by 2017.Eligible voters at the end of 2012 were 672,984, ofwhom 489,515 were registered.

Agriculture is the backbone of Meru’s economy,and most of Meru’s population lives in rural areas.According to national government portal Kenya OpenData, 12% of Meru’s population lives in urban areas,compared to the national average of 32%. The pop-ulation is relatively young, with 26% aged 20 andbelow and 35% aged 30 and below. Gender distri-bution is relatively even, although it is worth notingthat for people above the age of 60 women outnum-ber men by a factor of 1.15.

The major towns in the county include Meru, Maua,Nkubu, Timau and Laare. The city of Meru, the largestcity in the county, has a current population of approx-imately 74,000. The collective population of the fourmajor urban centres is projected to grow in line withthe county average of 2.1%, to reach 135,840 by2017. The population density varies across the sub-counties, with the lowest in Buuri and the highestin Igembe South, with higher density in more fertileareas. Igembe South is a suitable area in Meru forfarming while Buuri is semi-arid but suitable for cer-tain types of large-scale farming.CULTURE & SOCIETY: Although the dominant tribein the county is the Ameru, the population compris-es several ethnicities and religions. Meru people arepredominantly Christian, but there are also sizablepopulations of Hindus and Muslims. Methodists formthe majority of Christians, but there are also Catholics,Presbyterians and Anglicans. The Methodists havebeen very active in Meru’s education system, build-ing schools and higher learning institutions. Notably,the Methodist Training Institute was established in1958, and later became the Kenya Methodist Uni-versity – the largest private university in Kenya. LANGUAGE: The population of Meru is largely homo-geneous and their language, Kimîîrú and its dialects,are spoken among 1.9m people in Kenya. The dialectsinclude Igembe, Igoji, Imenti, Meru (Beik), Miutiniand Tigania. Kimîîrú has a lexical similarity of 85% withthe dialects of Imenti and Tigania, 67% with Chuka,63% with Embu and Gikuyu, and 57% with Kamba. Asa result, the language is spoken widely in homes andthroughout the communities of Meru. Other lan-guages spoken in the county include English andSwahili, however, literacy rates are quite low, at only5-10% for Kimîîrú and 25-50% for second languages.

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The population of Meru is relatively young, with 26% of people under the age of 20 and 35% under 30

The county’s altituderanges from 300 metresabove sea level to 5199metres above, owing to thesummit of Mount Kenyafalling within the countyborders.


SECTION INTERVIEW

Peter Munya

What do you see as Meru County’s economic com-petitive advantages relative to the rest of Kenya?MUNYA: Devolution is, in my opinion, the most impor-tant change that has taken place in Kenya’s recent his-tory. Devolving resources and power to the regions hasallowed individual counties to determine their owneconomic path, their own destiny and their own plans.Now, Meru is one of the key counties in Kenya, with apopulation of 1.5m people. It is a very rich agricultur-al area, growing virtually any crop in the country.

We grow tea, coffee, tobacco and flowers, and weare also the biggest banana producing county and thefastest growing for horticulture. We also have a verydiverse climate; you can go to Mount Kenya and growall the crops for wet, cold regions; then you can descendto areas that are a bit warmer for coffee; then thereare drier areas for cotton and cattle. In this sense, forany investor aiming to invest in agro-based value addi-tion, Meru County would be the right place to begin.

Furthermore, with its position at the centre of thecountry, Meru is in a strategic location for logisticsoperators and related service providers. The creationof the Lapsset Corridor will further enhance this advan-tage by improving connections between Meru, LamuPort, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

How do you strike a balance between collaborationand competition with neighbouring counties?MUNYA: One of the great things about our new con-stitution is that it creates opportunities to compete. Com-petition is healthy in that counties will benchmark andlearn from one another. If you see a best practice beingadopted in a particular county, you can borrow it andmake your county better. This pulls us closer and makeseveryone develop at a faster rate.

There are also many ways to collaborate, especiallybetween those counties that share a border. We havebeen meeting with our neighbours and have createdvarious forums intended to help us work with oneanother, resolve conflicts and deal with insecurity.

What would you consider to be Meru’s immediatedevelopment agenda in terms of infrastructure?MUNYA: Considering that Meru is largely an agricul-tural region, and given the expansion of agriculturethat we want to encourage, the biggest challenge forfarmers is roads. Farmers are not able to transport theirgoods to the market or to storage facilities, especiallyduring the rainy season. We think if we build goodroads, we can make a big difference and transformtheir lives. This is why we have explored more afford-able technology for road building, specifically withstrategic investors from Malaysia.

The cost of the new methods is one-third of what istypically spent here in Kenya, at KSh22m ($250,800)per km versus the normal KSh80m ($912,000) per km.We can now pay for 300 km of roads in two years, witha 10-year loan at a 3% interest rate through Exim Bank.It has taken 50 years to do 350 km, and now it will taketwo years to do 300 km. This is revolutionary, and willhave a multiplier effect on the economy of Meru.

What protocols are in place to ensure ethical busi-ness practices are followed?MUNYA: Meru is a county, so all national protocolsrelating to good business practices are part of our pro-tocol too. However, we have a lot of challenges at thelocal level. The counties are inheriting structures fromthe local authorities that used to exist before. Theseauthorities were very poorly run. We are inheriting aculture that did not take accountability seriously. Weare even inheriting staff that are used to such struc-tures. Slowly we are trying to change this.

We have partnered with the Ethics and Anti-Corrup-tion Committee to develop a code of conduct for ourstaff, using performance contracting as a managementtool. This way the work plan is clear and there is super-vision. This has been adopted at the national level andhas produced very good results, recognised by the UN.Our key message to the global community is Meru isopen for business and we are ready to support investors.

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Open for businessOBG talks to Peter Munya, Governor, Meru County

ECONOMY OVERVIEW

Agriculture generates approximately 80% of the county’s income

Currently in the midst of a county-wide develop-ment strategy, Meru has risen to nation-wide promi-nence, thanks to its solid fundamentals. Locatedright in the centre of Kenya, Meru is the country’sjunction county, a status bolstered by its role as theprime recipient of a Kenya Vision 2030 flagship infra-structure project that is set to connect Kenya’s coastto two of its international borders. The county gov-ernment has been outlining much-needed infra-structure improvements in order to help consoli-date Meru’s position on the map, while centring thefocus on the county’s road network.

The county currently relies heavily on the primarysector, with agriculture generating approximately80% of the county’s income. Meru’s fertile soil,favourable climate and altitudinal variation meansthat various crops can be grown; including tea, cof-fee, miraa (khat), horticulture (mainly flowers, fruitsand vegetables) and grains (wheat and maize). Indus-trial activity, while limited, is ripe with potential.Investments are being made to propel the county upthe agricultural value chain into processing indus-tries. The main components of the tertiary sectorare banking, trading and hospitality. AMBITIOUS PLANS: The County Integrated Devel-opment Plan 2013-17, which guides the county’seconomic planning policy, states the government’sprimary objective for the coming three years: “To facil-itate sustainable development and wealth creationin the county through commerce, technological inno-vations and industrialisation that leverages on ourskilled human resources, agriculture, wildlife, biodi-versity and cultural heritage.” To achieve this, the gov-ernment is aiming to support large gross countyproduct (GCP) contributors like agriculture; rehabil-itate smaller sectors, such as tourism and manufac-turing; and build infrastructure to support demand.

Indeed, the county is setting aside funds for invest-ment in a number of flagship projects, most of whichare open to private capital. They include KSh8bn

($91.2m) to build five to seven dams in Mount Kenyaand Nyambene forests; a teaching hospital at MeruUniversity of Technology, estimated to cost KSh6bn($68.4m); KSh4bn ($45.6m) for large-scale waterharvesting facilities in Nyambene; and KSh3bn($34.2m) for the design and construction of theMeru County special economic zone and an accom-panying city in the northern part of the county. Oth-er large projects include new sewerage infrastruc-ture for Meru Town (KSh3bn, $34.2m) and MauaTown (KSh1.5bn, $17.1m). Two new five-star hotels,one in in Mount Kenya National Park and one in MeruTown, are each estimated to cost KSh1.5bn ($17.1m).

One hindrance to planning – common to manyKenyan counties – is the lack of county level data,such as GCP and investment levels. Where data isavailable, the most recent figures are often from thelast national census in 2009. Since then, officialshave had to plan based on educated guesses.

In order to resolve this, Meru’s administrators areplanning to set up a county bureau of statistics. Mar-tin Gikunda, chief officer for lands, economic andphysical planning, explained that the county govern-ment is in the process of procuring a contractor toconduct a baseline survey in order to build countyeconomic data components, such as an appropriatebasket of goods to measure inflation. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: Meru’s Human Develop-ment Index score is 0.5622, higher than the nation-al average of 0.505. Nairobi scores the highest with0.6533 while Mandera County has the lowest score,at 0.3592. Meru has among the lowest poverty ratesin Kenya – 28.3% – with small-scale farmers hold-ing large cash reserves, according to John Angaine,a boardmember on the County Public Service Board.

The officially cited figure for the size of the labourforce is 800,000 or half of Meru’s population, trans-lating to one working age citizen for every non-worker. However, it is estimated that around 65% ofthe labour force is unemployed, a contrast which is

Meru’s HumanDevelopment Index score is0.5622, higher than thenational average of 0.505.The county has among thenation’s lowest povertyrates, at 28.3%.

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New economic planningSupported by strong fundamentals, the current government is steeringthe economy toward ambitious goals


ECONOMY OVERVIEW

likely due to the fact that – as in many regions ofEast Africa – informal activity plays a significant role.

That said, unemployment is rising: Meru’s youthhave a preference for white collar jobs, but there aretoo few to go around in this predominantly agricul-ture-based economy. Addressing youth labour isanother priority for the government, given that fig-ures from the County Development Profile 2013 esti-mate that 35% of Meru’s children are actively work-ing. In fact, according to the report, there are over22,000 households for which youth or children areemployed, mostly in agricultural jobs.

To tackle the high rate of unemployment, the coun-ty government has proposed several policy inter-ventions, for example, upgrading infrastructurethrough large, labour-intensive projects, such asconstructing rural roads, building dams, and restor-ing the county’s airstrips. The County Assembly is alsopushing for fair recruitment policies based on mer-it, as well as anti-discrimination rules.

For the longer term, programmes are under wayto provide professional development from an earlyage, promote vocational education, support valueaddition industries, and explore alternative careersthrough sports and arts. The literacy rate has risento 80% over the last few years through a concertedgovernment initiative that saw 74 adult learningcentres set up. In 2012, 910 adults enrolled in thesecentres and they were staffed with 312 teachers.There has been a much higher uptake by womenthan men, at a ratio of 62 to 38 per 100. FISCAL OVERSIGHT: With decentralisation, countygovernments are responsible for managing theirown budgets. However, the revenues side is tightlyregulated, with the national government allocatingthe bulk of county budgets through a complex for-mula and strictly governing what fees county gov-ernments can levy. Meru received some KSh4.8bn($54.7m) from the national government during fis-cal year 2013/14, the first year since devolution.The county aimed to raise KSh800m ($9.12m) fromlocal sources, however, the county treasury depart-ment has revised its estimates on revenue down toKSh600m ($6.84m). By comparison, only KSh300m($3.42m) was raised locally during fiscal year2012/13. The county government had initiallyplanned to spend KSh10bn ($114m) on Meru pro-

grammes in the 2013/14 budget, which had to bescaled down to match the funding reality.

According to the World Bank, Meru ran a budgetsurplus before decentralisation, but with fiscalresponsibility shifted to the county, authorities arelooking to trim costs. Meru’s payroll costs are highand the county treasury plans to reduce the wagebill by downsizing staff and by linking wage increas-es to productivity rather than giving automatic incre-ments over time. Broadly speaking, however, thebudget ratios are in good health. The Public FinanceAct of 2012 requires that at least 30% of each coun-ty’s resources are devoted to development throughnew capital expenditures. While many counties arestruggling to meet this ratio, Meru plans to exceedthe minimum requirement in the next fiscal year andspend 40% of the county budget on new develop-ment expenditures. Meru is expecting a 15% increasein the national allocation for fiscal year 2014/15, toKSh5.5bn ($6.2m), while county revenue collectionis expected to be KSh800m ($9.12m). An addition-al KSh1.8bn ($20.5m) will come from loans andgrants, adding up to total budget of KSh7.8bn ($89m)for 2014/15, up 37% from the previous fiscal year.

According to the county’s Fiscal Strategy Paper ofFebruary 2014, which sets out county budgetarygoals for the next fiscal year, resources will be usedto address challenges including low productivity andlack of value addition in the agriculture sector, poorinfrastructure hampering movement of goods andefficiency of business, inadequate access to healthand sanitation services, and inequality in education.Economic risks identified in the Fiscal Strategy Paperinclude external factors such as weakening globaleconomic growth adversely affecting Meru’s exportsand tourist arrivals, drier weather conditions harm-ing the county’s agricultural mainstay, and geopo-litical uncertainty affecting energy prices, whichcould hurt industrial development. Internal risksinclude wage pressures, getting staff on board with

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One way the government aims to tackle unemployment is through projects such as road construction

The national governmentprovided Meru with $54.7mduring fiscal year 2013/14and the country estimatedit would collect another$6.84m from local sources.

New legislation in 2012requires that 30% of acounty’s resources bedirected to developmentprojects through capitalexpenditure.

SOURCE: Revised Meru County Budget 2013/14

Key budgetary figures 2013/14 (KSh m)

Revenues

Central allocation 4749

Local sources 658

Other 275

Total 5682

Expenses

Personnel 1318

Operations 1161

Development (new & recurrent) 3033

Total 5682

ECONOMY OVERVIEW

newly devolved systems, and potential shortfalls inthe national revenue allocation to Meru.REVENUE COLLECTION: Given the limitations onfunding and local revenue sources, the county gov-ernment is getting creative with diversifying the rev-enue base. The Meru County Revenue Board is beingestablished in 2014, with the objective of simplify-ing payment procedures and minimising leakagesthrough integrated management systems. The ideais to ensure that monies collected reach the govern-ment, and that leakages are minimised through auto-mated revenue collection systems. For example,when people in Meru pay for parking, they will beissued receipts and their payment electronically reg-istered in the bank, reducing opportunities for skim-ming. In terms of new revenue sources, countieshave no constitutional taxation power, but they cancharge fees and levies for certain services. Meru’scounty government is able to collect fees from prop-erty, business permit issuance, tourist attractions,market vendors and public services such as wastecollection, sewage, and parking, among others.Through the County Finance Bill, which is expectedto pass in 2014, Meru will see increases for liquorlicence fees, parking fees and market access fees.

The need to harmonise fees was one of the bigissues raised by investors at the governors’ meetingheld in Mombasa in April 2014. Counties chargingfees that mimic taxation is a contentious issue onthe national stage. The Senate Finance Committee’sJanuary 2014 ruling that new levies charged by coun-ties were unconstitutional was welcomed byinvestors, who tended to perceive levies as doubletaxation and argued that it produced an unfriendlybusiness environment. A simple rule of thumb is thatfees that correlate directly to services provided bythe county are allowed, but blanket levies are not.

Meru is also looking towards partnerships, borrow-ing, and investment promotion as vehicles to raisemore resources. As public-private partnerships are

allowed to be concluded at both the national andlocal levels, Meru has sought national guarantees tofund projects such as road construction with privatesector partners. The county government has alsosought assistance from official multilateral and bilat-eral agencies, and has several existing projects fund-ed by organisations ranging from the UN to the USAgency for International Development.

More creatively, a Meru County Infrastructure andDiaspora Bond has been proposed, and bankers inMeru’s diaspora are looking to establish county cred-it ratings to facilitate lower lending rates. ATTRACTING INVESTMENT: In January 2014, Gov-ernor Peter Munya told local media the Meru Coun-ty Investment and Development Agency would beestablished by the end of the year. The agency willwork with the private sector on strategic invest-ments. In addition, Meru is pushing for consistencyin service delivery, through avenues such as gainingISO certification in order to standardise processes.

To help interested investors, the county is settingup one-stop shops known as huduma (service) cen-tres. Meru will set up five huduma centres per sub-county by June 2016, at a cost of KSh260m ($3m).The objective is to bring government services clos-er to citizens. These centres will serve as an infor-mation hub for investors and make it easier to dobusiness. The longer term plan is to transform thehuduma centres into one stop shops for businessneeds. Meru benefits from a comparatively high lev-el of digital infrastructure, with mobile network cov-erage reaching 95% of the county. Only some partsof Tigania lack coverage. The county governmenthas budgeted KSh2.5bn ($28.5m) over the five-yearCounty Integrated Development Plan through 2017to build 17 projects related to ICT improvements,including improving the county’s internet connec-tivity, establishing a county data centre, automatingrevenue collection processes, and ICT education.CASH-RICH COUNTY: “There is lots of money inMeru,” said Charles Kiara, County Branch Managerof Kenya Commercial Bank. “It has one of the high-est incomes per capita in the country,” he adds. Meruresidents have a relatively high disposable income.A strong banking system supports cash-rich Meru,which has the highest concentration of financialinstitutions outside Nairobi and Mombasa – 18 banksoperate in Meru across a 32 branch network. Merualso has the third-highest cash circulation nation-ally and is home to a Central Bank of Kenya branch.

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Given limitations funding and local revenue sources, the government is diversifying its revenue base

Mobile network coverageacross Meru was 95% attime of print; however, newICT projects in the comingfive years will extendcoverage to the unservedparts of Tigania.


SOURCE: Meru County Government

Coffee Dairy Transport Housing

No. of active societies 43 22 54 6

Membership 64,333 10,422 151,887 9614

Share capital (KSh m) 10 25 339 30

Turnover (KSh m) 908 299 3497 107

Production (kg m) 11.2 8.3 n/a n/a

No. of staff 332 93 463 n/a

Statistics on cooperatives, 2013

ECONOMY OVERVIEW

The major commercial banks operating in Meru area mix of foreign and national firms, including Bar-clays Bank, Cooperative Bank, Equity Bank, KenyaCommercial Bank, National Bank of Kenya, and Stan-dard Chartered Bank. A number of microfinanceinstitutions provide credit to micro and small enter-prises. Some examples of these are Faulu Kenya,Kenya Women Finance Trust, and Small and Medi-um Enterprises programme. Several insurance firmsalso operate in Meru, including APA, CIC and UAP.

Despite the cash richness of the county, there areconcerns that Meru’s conservative and risk-averseculture means that money is saved rather than invest-ed. This is reflected by a low loan-to-deposit ratio ofless than 50% among almost all the banks – a notuncommon trend in many emerging markets in Africa.“We want to encourage risk-taking in business,” Kiaratold OBG. “If it is viable, we can finance it.” WhileMeru’s banks have a high capacity to lend and donot generally have caps on loan sizes, the cultureimposes some limits on residents’ borrowing. Withonly 60% of Meru residents banked, both in conven-tional banks and cooperatives, the banking sectoris ripe with potential for further expansion and somebanks are looking to take advantage of this, such asFidelity Bank who recently announced that theywould launch a new branch in Meru. COOPERATIVE POWER: Savings and credit cooper-atives (SACCOs) offer an alternative to convention-al banking. SACCOs have existed for more than halfa century in Kenya, and were the source of spurreddevelopment in the agricultural sector as small-scalefarmers were able pool resources to access afford-able credit. In Meru, SACCOs lend at 12%, comparedwith rates of up to 20% through banks.

Besides financing, SACCOs also offer the oppor-tunity for farmers to consolidate fragmented land,invest in mechanisation and irrigation technologies,exercise collective bargaining power to buy cheap-er inputs such as seeds and fertilisers, push up sell-ing prices, and benefit from economies of scale byusing common storage facilities.

While SACCOs began as coffee, tea and dairy coop-eratives, today they have expanded into cooperativesfor water, transport, cotton, housing, tourism and oth-er sectors. Meru Central Dairy Farmers CooperativeUnion is the largest SACCO in Meru, but may soonbe rivalled by a reinvigorated coffee industry.

According to a 2013 county government report,there are 140 SACCOs in Meru with over 200,000members. The collective share of capital of these SAC-COs exceeds KSh400m ($4.6m), while turnoverreached KSh5bn ($57m) in 2012.

The county is also pushing for the establishmentof new SACCOs for other products, such as bananas,for which Meru leads the country. The county gov-ernment allocated KSh3m ($34,000) in each wardfor SACCO development in fiscal year 2013/14.LAND STRUGGLES: The lion’s share of land use inMeru is for agricultural. However, land distributionis uneven, with large-scale farmers concentrated in

the north of the county, owning plots in the hun-dreds of acres, while smaller-scale farmers have oneto five acre plots and tend to be located in the south.Among the smaller landholders, plots tend to be fur-ther subdivided across generations of the owningfamily, resulting in economically unviable holdings.The county Lands, Economic and Physical PlanningDepartment (LEPPD) believes that this trend willresult in higher rates of rural-urban migration in thefuture, which will result in a range of employmentand infrastructural challenges to Meru’s towns.

Land registration in Meru stood at only 60% inmid-2014, according to Martin Gikunda, the chief offi-cer for the LEPPD. However, registration is even lesscommon in the Tigania and Igembe subcounties, hesaid, where the rate drops to as low as 20% at times.While low registration is presenting serious problems,unresolved land disputes are also a major concernamong Meru’s inhabitants and administrators. Someresidents have waited over a decade for verdicts inland dispute cases, according to the local press. Thenorth of the county has seen the slowest case res-olution, due to a backlog of numerous court casesconcerning disputes both within Meru and alsobetween Meru and the bordering county of Isiolo.

Inadequate staffing has been blamed for the back-log in the past, but now – with more staff and thelaunch of a programme to fast track title deeds andsettle land disputes – the LEPPD is aiming for an ambi-tious 100% land registration by 2017. In the first yearin office, the county government processed 62,000title deeds, while the plan was to issue 200,000 titlesfor two to five acre plots by June 2014.

Allegations of corruption among members of somevillage committees caused efforts to stall somewhatin mid-2014. Administrators’ goals for deed issuancewere amended, and Martin Odhiambo, land officerof Tigania West told local media in July that his officewas in the process of finalising field inquiries andpreparing to issue title deeds by the end of 2014.

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Savings and credit cooperatives offer an alternative to conventional banking in the county

There were 140 SACCOs inMeru in 2013, withapproximately 200,000members, capital of over$4.6m and turnover of over$57m in 2012.

AGRICULTURE OVERVIEW

The varied climate of the county makes it ideal for a variety of crops

With fertile soil and a favourable climate, it is little won-der that farming dominates Meru’s economic activi-ty. The sector accounts for 80% of Meru’s income and90% of the county’s population is directly or indirect-ly dependent on agriculture for livelihoods. Accord-ing to the World Bank, despite rapid urbanisation inKenya, Meru’s rural population still exceeds 80%. DIVERSE ZONES: The county’s varied climatic and eco-logical zones allow for a range of agricultural produc-tion. Average rainfall ranges from 300 mm to 2500mm annually, and the county’s altitude spans from lowhills of 300 metres above sea level to the peak ofMount Kenya above 5000 metres. The county’s Agri-culture, Livestock and Fisheries Department dividesthe county into 11 agro-ecological zones, rangingfrom the cold and wet upper highlands, to the coolupper midlands, to the hot and dry lower midlands.These natural factors dictate agricultural activity. Forexample, the county grows wheat and barley in theupper highlands, tea and coffee in the upper midlandsand cotton and millets in the lower highlands.

The total area under cultivation for staple (food)and cash (commercial and export) crops is 439,000acres, about half of Meru’s total area. The main sta-ple crops are maize, sorghum, various beans, variouspeas and green grams. The main cash crops grownare coffee, tea, wheat, cotton, miraa (khat) and flow-ers. Horticulture is a major enterprise, and includesvegetables like snow peas and French beans; fruits suchas bananas, mangoes, avocados, passion fruit; andwatermelon; nuts; and cut flowers.

From among these crops, vegetables and fruits aremainly sold for national consumption, while flowersand nuts are almost exclusively sold as exports. Somefruits, such as avocados, are processed into oils out-side of Meru and are then exported.

Europe is the biggest market for flowers, while teaand coffee is auctioned in the exchanges of Mom-basa and Nairobi, respectively. The county is fedthrough the production of bananas, maize, beans,

cow peas, pigeon peas and coffee. Meru is the nation’sleader in banana and other horticultural production.CROP DATA: The agricultural landscape consists ofmainly smallholder farms. 98.6% of farms are smallscale, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s MeruCounty Profile 2013 – not unusual for Kenya or indeedAfrican agricultural markets in general. The nationalaverage farm size is two acres, but size varies accord-ing to population density: More sparsely populatedareas see farm sizes up to five acres while densely pop-ulated areas have farms averaging one acre.

The total area under cultivation for staples, cashcrops and horticulture is 700,000 acres, 40,000 acres,and 50,000 acres, respectively. Staples yield is around1m tonnes annually. Tea is the largest cash crop, witharound 45m kg produced annually. Correspondingly,tea is Meru’s biggest revenue earner, bringing in $1-2 per kg to fetch some KSh4bn ($45.6m) per yearover the past few years. A recent price slump will like-ly result in significantly lower revenues in 2014. Bananaproduction of 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes annuallyleads horticulture. The most lucrative product amongall of Meru’s agricultural products is cut flowers, whichearn KSh200-250 ($2.28-2.95) per kg.THE BIG PLAYERS: While most Meru farmers havesmall plots, large farms also exist. In the northernward of Timau in Buuri subcounty a half dozen largefarms produce horticulture, wheat and livestock. Thelargest three are Marania, Oldonyo and Kisima, eacharound 10,000 acres. Marania’s major products arewheat and dairy, Oldonyo focuses on wheat, and Kisi-ma’s main produce is horticulture (largely flowers)and dairy. Protea, Lobelia, and Ibis are other large-scalefarms, each with around 3000 acres or less, and grow-ing a range of horticultural products including flow-ers, garden peas and French beans.

Some of these larger farms are venturing into val-ue addition. Kisima, for example, is setting up a pro-cessing plant to make cooking oil and potato crisps.The Horticultural Association of Kenya, established in

Tea is Meru’s single-largestearner of revenue, havingreached $45.6m for 45m kgof tea produced annuallyover the past several years,fetching between $1-2 perkg.

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Fertile landsA diversified agricultural sector continues to drive Meru’s economy



1999, meets regularly to share best practices. Horti-culture farmers agree that the future is promising forMeru. “Investors keep coming looking for agricultur-al land,” said John Angaine, a boardmember on theCounty Public Service Board and an investor in Meruhorticulture. He said that investors come looking for500-plus acres but are unable to find such large plots.Investor appetite is expected to continue to rise asfarms will benefit from a newly expanded Isiolo air-port and a railway line for exports, through a Vision2030 national megaproject. Greenhouses are com-monplace among the larger commercial farms, aver-aging 100 metre by 25-metre tunnels, but costs ofKSh34m ($387,000) tend to limit their popularity,although the cost can typically be recovered fromtwo years of production according to Angaine. COUNTY ASSISTANCE: As is the case throughout thecontinent, farmers in Meru rarely realise their fullearning potential because they are engaged in agri-culture, rather than agribusiness. Farmers sell theirproduce raw at low prices while brokers (middlemen)take the profits. Efforts are under way to promoteagribusiness as an industry by setting up agro-pro-cessing facilities run by farmer cooperatives.

The agriculture sector also faces challenges relat-ed to an increase in crop pests and the price and qual-ity of agricultural inputs. To address this, the countygovernment is looking to provide local supportthroughout the entire agriculture value chain. “We arecollaborating with input suppliers for fertilisers andpesticides, financiers such as microfinance institu-tions, farmers associations to market products, reg-ulators, health inspectors, and exporters,” said KingeManene, county chief officer for agriculture.

Funding of an additional 11% is being allocated tothe agriculture sector’s budget for fiscal year 2014/15.The County Fiscal Paper, which sets out the budgetfor the fiscal year ending June 2015, identified thefollowing as priorities: input supply support, increas-ing production and productivity, strengthening the useof modern technology, reducing the losses from dis-ease and pests, and improving marketing and brand-ing. The County Integrated Development Plan has alsoearmarked KSh2.1bn ($24m) to promote the sectorthrough June 2018. Activities will include improving

storage facilities; promoting value addition throughfood processing; rehabilitation of the coffee and cot-ton sectors; soil conservation and management pro-grammes; input supply provision; as well as extensionservices support. Some examples of the other bud-geted programmes through June 2018 are the KSh50m($570,000) farmers’ empowerment programme andthe KSh1.5m ($17,000) capacity building programme.These initiatives include post-production technologytransfers, extension services, and grants.

Farmers are also offered subsidised equipment leas-es, tax breaks and low-cost land as incentives. Farm-ers already have access to subsidised fertiliser via theNational Cereals and Produce Board, under the Min-istry of Agriculture. Through this programme, thecounty receives fertilisers at 50% of market price, andthe fertilisers are offered to local farmers throughthe county agricultural board. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: Coffee was a leading sec-tor in Meru 20 years ago. The 1995 production levelwas 63m kg compared to 19m kg in 2013. Coffee pro-duction slumped because of a variety of factors thatadversely impacted growers, including unpredictableglobal prices, erratic weather, expensive farm inputs,payment delays and poor sector management. Giv-en the apparent lack of a ceiling on global coffeedemand, the county government is offering incentivesfor farmers to return to coffee. The government pro-cured 2800 bags of fertiliser (each 90 kg) and 200,000seedlings to be distributed. This is part of a widercounty goal of pushing farmers up the value chain.Since February 2014, Meru has started milling, brand-ing and marketing its own coffee.

The government is also looking to directly invest atotal of KSh1m ($11,000) for coffee rehabilitationand cotton development through 2017. Cotton hashigh export potential under the U.S. African Growthand Opportunity Act. Recognizing the opportunity,Meru’s county government bought 60 tonnes of cot-ton seed in fiscal year 2013/14. This purchase was

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SOURCE: Meru County Budget 2013/14

Crop management 60

Commodity marketing 20

Input supply support 45

Botanical garden 1

Bee farming 10

Livestock management 15

Animal disease management 5

Value addition & agro-processing 20

Forestry & nurseries 10

Fish ponds 25.2

Irrigation development 200

TOTAL 411.2

Agricultural investments, FY2013/14 (KSh m)

The county has identified increasing agricultural production and use of technology as priorities

The expense of greenhouseinfrastructure, which costsapproximately $387,000,has been a limiting factor intheir use, though efforts toimprove irrigation couldboost output.

Coffee was once a leadingproduct in Meru. In 1995the county produced 63mkg, however, this haddeclined to only 19m by2013. Still, new brandingefforts could seeproduction increase.


made in partnership with Stanley Munga, the chair-man of Equity Bank, through Gaitu Cotton Ginnery, acounty quasi-governmental organisation. The ginnerywill assure farmers of a minimum price upon delivery.

Rice is also a focal point, particularly a crop knownas New Rice for Africa (Nerica) which does not requirewet paddies and can grow in normal soil. Nerica is ahybrid rice that produces a higher yield per acre thanthe maize and beans that are traditionally grown byMeru’s small-scale farmers. Meru has bought 2 tonnesfor a trial in Tigania West and Imenti South subcoun-ties. While coffee, cotton and rice are on the rise asMeru’s upcoming cash crops, long bread winners,such as tea and miraa are going through a roughpatch. Tea earnings are usually smooth, as all tea issold at the Mombasa auction.

Farmers ordinarily get paid a fixed fee of KSh14($0.16) per kg on a monthly basis by the Kenya TeaDevelopment Agency (KTDA), and twice yearly bonus-es – a mini bonus in April and a larger one in Octo-ber. The bonuses are essential to tea growers’ liveli-hoods because the monthly payments alone areinsufficient to make ends meet. In 2014, however,

KTDA, announced that the April bonus would not bepaid to farmers because of low international pricesThe lost April bonus was expected to be KSh5 ($0.057)per kg and farmers were told in mid-2014 to alsoexpect a lower-than-usual bonus in October.GREEN GOLD: Despite its importance to farmers, teaat the Mombasa auction was being bought for $2.5per kg in the 2013/14 season, as opposed to $3 inthe previous season. January 2014 was particularly bad,with tea prices down 50% year-on-year. Supply anddemand side reasons have been cited for reducedprices – favourable weather conditions in major tea-growing countries led to an oversupply, while demandfrom large buyers such as Egypt, Sudan and Pakistanhas been subdued because of instability in thosecountries. KTDA is seeking to diversify to markets inEast Asia to reduce future price instability.

Known as the county’s green gold, miraa has beenknown to fetch up to KSh1000 ($11.40) per kg. Thislucrative plant is coming under increased interna-tional scrutiny and trade bans are on the rise. The lat-est European counties to ban miraa were the UK inJune 2014 and the Netherlands in January of the sameyear. The UK has also classified miraa as a Class C drug,in the same category as steroids.

Efforts to overturn the ban have gone to the high-est levels, with even Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyat-ta having intervened. Miraa revenues fell fromKSh1.4bn ($16m) in 2011 to KSh1bn ($11.4m) in2013. However, another threat to Meru’s miraa indus-try is competition from other counties.

Meru has traditionally been one of the only coun-ties in Kenya with the right soil and climate to growmiraa, and it had a virtual monopoly. Now, tea farm-ers in Rift Valley counties are planting a hybrid miraa.Seedlings are a pricey KSh500 ($5.70) and trees havea three-year lifespan, but farmers expect returns ofKSh500 ($5.70) per kg. Falling earnings in 2014 havesparked this product substitution and farmers who arealready growing the hybrid miraa earn betweenKSh4m-10m ($45,600-114,000) per acre annually. STORAGE: A lack of adequate storage facilities hastraditionally led to significant wastage and farmerssell perishing produce at throwaway prices, exacer-bating price instability. Farmers use storage facilitiesof traders and the National Cereals and Produce Board(NCPB) depots. There are two NCPB depots in thecounty, in Meru Town and Maua. Apart from these,there are approximately 32,000 cribs that farmersuse to store their products as well as 1600 traderstores. Three new grain silos were completed in thefiscal year ending June 2014, each with capacity of100,000 bags (each 90 kg).

A county flagship project will spend KSh400m($4.6m) to develop one model grain cleaning, sortingand warehousing store in each subcounty. Given thepoor road network and lack of rural infrastructure,farmers without access to grain silos have tradition-ally stored their harvest in sacks. To combat infesta-tion due to low-quality sacks, in fiscal year 2013/14the county government procured 18,000 Purdue

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Agricultural area, production & value of staples, 2012*


Staples

Maize 95,101 444,103 3985

Beans 80,531 131,895 4354

Pigeon peas 14,962 36,662 507

Dolichos 4282 8144 127

Cow peas 6,926 19,687 150

Green grams 5470 9626 178

Sorghum 14,592 26,150 307

Millet 6019 4703 200

Wheat 15,265 60,022 1262

Sweet potato 1106 6315 182

Irish potato 21,245 235,978 5296

Farmers are usually paid a monthly fixed fee of $0.16 per kg of tea

Miraa is regarded as thecounty’s “green gold”, andhas earned as much as$11.40 per kg in previousyears, though revenueshave declined from $16m in2011 to $11.4m in 2013.



Improved Crop (PIC) storage sacks (400 per ward) forgrain storage. PIC sacks allow for grain storage up toone year without contamination from weevils andother infestations. The sacks are being distributedamong small-scale farmers at no cost to them.

The county is additionally looking to procure 18weighing scales in 2014, while plans are also underway to build new cereal stores for both inputs and har-vests. Even when farmers do have access to storagefacilities, excessive moisture is a major cause of post-harvest crop losses in Meru. To combat this problem,the county government has procured 45 moisturemetres (one per ward) in the fiscal year ending June2014. These moisture metres will serve to ensurethere is less than 15% moisture content in grain, thuspreventing mould and crop loss in storage.

As further measures to prevent crop loss, the gov-ernment is looking to set up more market centres forfresh produce and is also in the process of building10 cooling facilities, spread across the county andtwo have been completed so far, under this nationalgovernment-funded project. The remaining eight areexpected to be completed by the end of 2014. Thesefacilities will enable farmers to avoid transportinggoods to Nairobi for cold storage, and with Isiolo air-port expected to serve as an export base, cold stor-age units in the County have high demand potential.IRRIGATION & SOIL: Eleven rivers flow through MeruCounty, originating from Mount Kenya and the Nyam-bene mountain range in the north. There are also 12shallow wells, 30 protected springs, two water pans,16 dams and 105 boreholes serving the county.

While much of Meru County benefits from abun-dant rainfall, efforts are under way to excavate waterpans in the drier areas where water can be stored forup to three months. There is little modern irrigationin Meru, although the larger farms are adopting dripirrigation and greenhouse technologies. The countygovernment has set an aspirational goal to irrigate100,000 acres by 2017. The County Integrated Devel-opment Report 2013-17 finds that 200,000 acreshave irrigation potential, and only 5266 acres are cur-rently under irrigation in the county.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency is alsofunding a KSh71m ($809,000) irrigation scheme cov-ering 1100 acres in the Igembe subcounty. KSh50m($570,000) will be given through a grant and theremainder will be covered through farmers’ labour.

Water cooperatives, such as Thuura-Giaki, are com-munity-centred water schemes that manage watersupply for both irrigation and farming, and for domes-tic use. Such organisations also work to ensure thesafe use or water, as some agricultural chemicals havebeen contaminating the water supply, which is thenused further downstream for drinking.

Soil fertility initiatives, like training on crop rotationtechniques, are being promoted by the county gov-ernment, which is spending KSh2m ($22,800) on soilconservation efforts. The goal is to have 80% of arablefarmland under soil conservation initiatives by 2017.A reforestation programme is also currently under

way to mitigate the effects of climate change. Meruis compliant with national natural resource conser-vation laws, such as the Environment Managementand Coordination Act and the Kenya Forest ServiceAct. The county also spent KSh2m ($22,800) in thefiscal year ending June 2014 on drought resistantcrops such as Irish potatoes and snow peas. There isa Kenya Agricultural Research Institute substation inMeru County, which conducts research on dry cropssuch as sorghum, millets and cassava. LIVESTOCK & HERDS: While most land is used forcrop farming, there is some livestock rearing in thedrier parts of the county including Tigania and Igem-be. The main livestock raised are cattle (Friesian, Zebu,and Jersey), goats (Toggenburg), sheep (Merino), pigs,poultry and some rabbits. While most people use theirlivestock for domestic purposes, some industries, likedairy production, are growing. Beef and milk produc-tion have been the biggest revenue takers, each earn-ing KSh2bn ($22.8m) annually.

There are eight large ranches each averaging 240acres. One of them, Lewa, doubles as a wildlife con-servancy and attracts tourism. Lewa Conservancyeven hosts an annual marathon which is renownedfor runners encountering game animals during therace. The organisers additionally provide air supportduring the race to track animals to ensure enough sep-aration between runners and wildlife. Animal feed isgenerally produced on a small-scale or is procured from

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Cash crops

Coffee 8077 83,764 713

Tea 3781 44,569,114 4345

Cotton 1216 1181 40

Miraa 419 181,254 55

Macadamia 1203 2618 176

Agricultural area, production & value of cash crops, 2012*

Water management and protection is a key consideration in Meru

There is little modernirrigation in Meru, althoughthe larger farms areadopting drip irrigation andgreenhouse technologies.The county government hasset a goal to irrigate100,000 acres by 2017.


outside Meru, but a handful of suppliers also produceit commercially. Kisima is the only farm doing large-scale animal feed production, both supplying theirown daily production needs and selling surplus. Mean-while, Mwonyo Quality Feeds is a standalone factorythat exclusively produces animal feeds and sells it tofarmers at prices that are cheaper than feeds fromoutside the county.

However, to scale up support for animal husbandry,more input is needed and a KSh1bn ($11.4m) budg-et expenditure has been earmarked for livestock sup-port programmes during the five-year County Inte-grated Development Plan period. The programmeswill include dairy cattle promotion, livestock market-ing, bee keeping, rabbit production, and veterinary proj-ects such as disease control. Vaccines worth KSh6.4m($73,000) were procured and 7000 animals were vac-cinated each month in the first quarter of 2014.

A KSh6m ($68,400) project aims to reduce the inci-dence of tick-borne diseases by 2017. Efforts are alsounder way to issue slaughter house licences andimprove meat inspection, while a KSh38m ($433,000)livestock marketing project will train farmers and setup information centres, aiming to increase marketaccessibility by 20% by 2017. Eventually, merino wooland Meru cheese will also be developed.

FISHY BUSINESS: At the end of 2013, there wereapproximately 2000 small-scale fish ponds, distributedrelatively evenly across all of Meru’s nine subcoun-ties. Meru’s 2500 fish farmers raise tilapia, mudfishand trout mainly, and most of them grow agricultur-al crops as well. In 2012, the fish harvest was 15,000kg bringing in turnover of KSh3.45m ($40,000).

Meru’s County Integrated Development Plan hasbudgeted KSh1.7bn ($19.4m) for fisheries from 2013to 2017. Three projects will each take KSh500m ($5.7m)of this. One will create hatcheries for fingerlings infive subcounties, another will provide fish farm inputsupplies such as lining and fish feeds in all nine sub-counties, and the last one will see the constructionof new fishponds in all nine subcounties. Some 140new fishponds had been constructed by June 2014.The construction was managed by farmer groups, butthe county provided the polythene lining material toprevent seepage, as well as the initial feed prior tothe first harvest. The fish ponds are expected to besustainable by end-2014. The fisheries departmentwants to have the whole value chain, from hatcheryto fish ponds to processing plants. A hatchery in Buurisubcounty will serve to supply fishponds with finger-lings, and two processing plants will be built in SouthImenti, with cold storage in Kanyakine and Maua.

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By 2017 it is hoped thatlivestock capacity can bebolstered, primarilythrough an effort toimprove accessibility, butalso through thedevelopment of value-added products.


SOURCE: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries

Zone Area covered Size (sq km) Suitable crops

Wheat-barley zone Timau, Kibirichia 227.5 Wheat, barley, potatoes,

cabbages, snow peas, canola

Tea-dairy zone Abo West, Nkuene, Abogeta, Igoji, Abo Central 133.5 Tea, dairy, cabbages, carrots,

kale, peas, pyrethrum, plums

Wheat-barley, cattle-sheep zone Timau 207 Wheat, barley, peas, kale,

green onions, sheep,

dairy/beef cattle

Tea-coffee zone Various 100 Tea, coffee, cabbages, kale,

yams, sweet potatoes

Main coffee zone MM East, Abo Central, Abogeta 196 Coffee, millets, beans,

sweet potatoes, avocadoes,

macadamia, bananas

Marginal coffee zone MM East, Nkuene, Abogeta, Tigania Central, Uringu, Mutuati 191 Coffee, maize, bananas,

macadamia, mangoes,

sunflower

Ranching zone Timau, Buuri, Igembe North, Mutuati, Kibirichia 261 Not suitable for

rain-fed agriculture

Cotton zone MM East, Abo East, Nkuene, Abogeta, Mitunguu 314.5 Cotton, mangoes, cowpeas,

pigeon peas, green grams,

groundnuts, millets,

sorghum, sunflower, pawpaw

Marginal cotton zone Ntolele, Igembe South, Igembe South-east 226 Millets, sunflower, cowpeas,

chickpeas, groundnuts,

green grams, cotton,

mangoes, moth beans

Livestock-millet zone Akithi, Tigania West, Tigania North, Mutuati, Ntolele 747 Green grams, cowpeas,

chickpeas, cassava,

mangoes, pawpaw

Ranching zone Mutuati, Igembe North 842 Ranching, crops can only be

grown under irrigation

Agro-ecological zones

ke14 meru booklet1:layout 1meru.go.ke/image/oxford report.pdf · the nine subcounties are igembe...

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